Venezuela's Indigenous Protest Against Coal Mining in Their Lands

[chlamor]

Venezuela's Indigenous Protest Against Coal Mining in their Lands

Friday, Apr 01, 2005

By: Sarah Wagner – Venezuelanalysis.com

Caracas, Venezuela, April 1, 2005—Yesterday over six hundred Venezuelan indigenous people of the Wayú, Barí, and Yukpa ethnicities marched from the Plaza Morelos to the Presidential Palace of Miraflores, protesting coal exploitation in the western state of Zulia. Alongside the indigenous people, civil society groups, political organizations, ecological and environment agencies and NGOs of the region walked the two miles to hand deliver a letter of protest to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez.

Alvaro Acontacai, a representatative for the Barí ethnicity, explained that the letter protests coal mining in the Sierra de Perijá, the most northern chain of Andes mountains, charging that mining of the mineral is harmful both to the environment and to the people.

The letter details the number of workers in coal businesses Carbones de Guasare and Carbones del la Guajira who have come down with work-related illnesses.  It explains that coal mining has not only displaced indigenous populations from their homes but also Zulia residents due to the contamination of the Catatumbo and Zulia rivers, preventing the five million citizens of Zulia from attaining daily access to water. Destroying the water supply not only harms the environment, the letter states, but also prevents the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock.

<snip>

In fact, Article 120 of the Constitution states that exploitation of any natural resource must respect the above mentioned rights and is "subject to prior information and consultation with the native communities concerned."Also, Venezuela's indigenous peoples have three indigenous representatives in the National Assembly, who belong to the pro-Chavez coalition. Yet as multi-million dollar development projects attempt to extract coal from the region advance, Venezuela's 314,000 indigenous people, who make up 1% of the population, insist that social rights must weigh more than economic profits.

http://www.venezuelanalysis.com/news.php?newsno=1569

[jamesinca]

1. Those liberals

"insist that social rights must weigh more than economic profits."

No wonder Bush wants to overthrow the government down there in Venezuela.

[blindpig]

2. sure hope the Chavez gov does the right thing

Lula's performance in Brazil has been pretty dismal concerning the environment. Appears that he is allowing large scale environmental degradation for the temporary benefit of the poor masses rather than coming into conflict with the rich elite by attempting to balance the wealth disparity on their backs. It pains me to see a good leftist trashing the environment.

The new Venezuelan constitution appears to be very enlightened.

[Judi Lynn]

3. If you run across any articles on Lula's degradation of the environment

please post them. I've not seen any yet, and it would be a large help. I would think our liberal press would have insisted on making sure that information got a lot of play here.

The most I've heard is that the rancher who hired people to kill the American nun, Dorothy Stang was caught after a heavy government search for him, and that Lula has made arrangements to insure a lot of land around there cannot be tampered with.

[blindpig]

4. just what I've seen around here

down in environment & energy. More like benign neglect, allowing the wildcat miners to continue their depravations, continued roadbuilding, dams of questionable utility. Believe me, I know Lula has a full plate, I just question some of his tactics. And as I don't really know his situation I may be completly out to lunch. Just don't like having the needs of the people and sustaining the environment being put in opposition.